Earlier this week I speculated that the Angels would use four starting pitchers for the ALCS despite the drawn-out schedule making a three-man rotation possible, and after playing coy for a couple days manager Mike Scioscia announced this afternoon that he’ll indeed use John Lackey, Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, and Scott Kazmir against the Yankees.
Because the Angels’ rotation depth is one of their biggest strengths shortening up the rotation wouldn’t have benefited them nearly as much as it does the Yankees, who’ll give every ALCS start to the trio of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte while avoiding starts from Chad Gaudin or perhaps Joba Chamberlain. In particular Sabathia will take the mound three times if the series lasts seven games, while fellow Game 1 starter John Lackey will pitch just twice.
Given how things are lined up for the Angels, if the series goes to seven games Sabathia would likely face Weaver, whose first start of the series will come in Game 3 because Scioscia wants him to pitch at home, where he has a 2.90 ERA. Barring any further changes, here are the ALCS game-by-game matchups:
Game 1: CC Sabathia vs. John Lackey
Game 2: A.J. Burnett vs. Joe Saunders
Game 3: Andy Pettite vs. Jered Weaver
Game 4: CC Sabathia vs. Scott Kazmir
Game 5: A.J. Burnett vs. John Lackey
Game 6: Andy Pettite vs. Joe Saunders
Game 7: CC Sabathia vs. Jered Weaver
Right now the Yankees are around 1.75-to-1 favorites for the whole series.

Former Mets catcher Johnny Monell signed a contract with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization, per a report by Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The 30-year-old originally struck a deal with the NC Dinos on Thursday, but the deal appeared to fall through at the last minute, according to Cotillo’s unnamed source.

Monell last surfaced for the Mets during their 2015 run, batting a dismal .167/.231/.208 with two extra bases in 52 PA before the club DFA’d him to clear space for Bartolo Colon. While he’s had difficulty sticking at the major league level, he’s found a higher degree of success in the minor league circuit and holds a career .271 average over a decade of minor league play. He played exclusively in Triple-A Las Vegas during the 2016 season, slashing .276/.336/.470 with 19 home runs and a career-high 75 RBI in 461 PA.

The veteran backstop appears to be the second MLB player to join the KT Wiz roster this offseason, as right-hander Donn Roach also signed with the club last month on a one-year, $850,000 deal.

Brewers’ right-hander Phil Bickford received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse, per the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin. This is the second time Bickford has been suspended for recreational drug use, as he was previously penalized in 2015 after testing positive for marijuana prior to the amateur draft.

Bickford was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2015 draft and was later dealt to the Brewers for lefty reliever Will Smith at the 2016 trade deadline. He finished his 2016 campaign in High-A Brevard County, pitching to a 3.67 ERA, 10.0 K/9 rate and 5.0 BB/9 over 27 innings.

Two other suspensions were handed down on Friday, one to Toronto minor league right-hander Pedro Loficial for a positive test for metabolites of Stanozolol and one to Miami minor league outfielder Casey Soltis for a second positive test for drugs of abuse. Loficial will serve a 72-game suspension, while Soltis will serve 50 games. All three suspensions are due to start at the beginning of the 2017 season for each respective minor league team.

We are very disappointed to learn of Phil’s suspension, but we fully support the Minor League Baseball Drug Prevention and Testing Program and its enforcement by the Commissioner’s Office. Phil understands he made a mistake, and we fully anticipate that he will learn from this experience.